


Peppering a Little Christmas Cheer!

by NotPonytailsorCottontails



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Bad Attempts at Poetry/Whatever Rhymes I Guess, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Family, Fluff, Gen, Honorary Blot Family Member Pepper, Pepper is a Sweetheart, Poetry, Tsundere Phantom Blot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:26:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28297500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotPonytailsorCottontails/pseuds/NotPonytailsorCottontails
Summary: The Phantom Blot: A creepy, hardened, Knight of Cerebus agent of F.O.W.L., sworn to fight against the tyranny of magic everywhere. But underneath the mask lies a lonely, misunderstood soul with nothing else to live for. And as all the other agents find him a tad bit too out there, it looks like the feared shadowy phantom will have to yet again spend Christmas Eve alone. Or will he?
Relationships: Pepper (Disney: DuckTales)/Phantom Blot (Disney)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	1. The Phantom of the Eve!

Twas the night before Christmas when everything was laid bare. On the far edge of Duckburg, a single lonely home sat atop a forest hill at the end of a long winding stair.

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse, as the cool winter blizzard beat hard against the house. But safe on the inside, working with grim desperation and pride, a mysteries phantom toiled away on the eve of yuletide.

The holidays were not on his agenda, neither was merry sloth, as he was not in the mood, to spend a little time off. And as he prepped his thieving gauntlet, to his tired bore, a loud set of knocks rang out on the door.

He stood up with a groan and curse, and what could be worse? Out on his doorstep she stood, a duck with a smile, shivering as much as she could. A friendly Egghead was now here, all wrapped up in warm winter's gear, to spread a little Christmas cheer.

"Merry Christmas Mr. Bloooottt!" She greeted the dark shadowy phantom with glee as the snow blew past her into the house. The tired phantom slowly lowered his glowing green eyes to her, he was not in the holiday mood.

"Pepper, please..." He pleaded. He wasn't really angry or annoyed with her, just tired. Pepper was his trusted magic hunting partner after all, and he could really use some long-deserved Christmas rest.

Alone.

"Well now, if you insissssst! AhHAA! Ahem-ahem." Not quite getting the point, she giggled lightheartedly and cleared her throat and closed her eyes to prepare to sing for him. 

"O Christmas tree, o Christmas treeee! How lovely are thy brancheeees! O Christmas tree, o Christmas treeee! How lovely are thy branche-"

"-Oh I'm sorry, you busy?" She abruptly stopped signing to ask after noticing the lonely shadowy phantom fiddling away restlessly with his glove.

"Well if you're busy, I can just leave and come back another time. My mother always said, don't bother other people. I think that's good advice."

The phantom sighed a long and tired defeated sigh. He knew he was a villain, but that didn't necessarily mean he had to be rude. He was a villain of high magic hunting standards after all.

"...Well, why don't you take it then?" He suggested as politely and he gently as he could, but Pepper still didn't get it. She was clueless, she was blissfully ignorant.

She was, a crackhead.

"AhHAA! Just wanted to see how my new PARTNEEEER, was spending his Christmas Eve! And since we're partners now, it's my new, personal responsibility, to check up on you. A gals always gotta look out for her fellow lone wolf."

"...That's not, necessarily, how it works." Blot slowly replied, still quite a bit unsure of himself.

"Aww c'mon!" Pepper put her gloved hands at her hips and gave him a look of stern but kind motherly correction.

"Don't be such a big ol' sulky Grouch. Or was it a Grinch?" She stopped to ask. "Because a Grouch hangs out in the garbage, and Grinch is big green hairy grouch who steals Christmas cheer and magic and that they're both green and grumpy so you can see how I could confuse them. Am I talking too much? Because I talk too much. Sometimes I think I talk so much that I-"

"Uuughhhh!" The phantom pulled at his dark menacing hood in clear audible frustration. "Would you PLEASE?"

"-forget, what I was, even saying..." Pepper blinked, finally pulling her long delayed train of thought into the station.

"If you don't mind, I would prefer to spend Christmas Eve, in peace!"

Pepper didn't respond.

"By myself."

...

"Alone."

...

"Oh!" The chipper F.O.W.L. Egghead suddenly snapped back into the cold harshness of reality and held hand behind her cracked helmet.

"Oh I think it's GOOD, for a person to spend time alone. It gives them an opportunity to discover who they are and to figure out why they are always alone."

"...But for Christmaaaaaas, you've got to make an exception right?! AhHAA!" She laughed and pushed past the dark phantom to take a look inside his house from the cold, but was quickly disappointed to find just your average, everybody, normal living room. 

No colorful Christmas lights were strung up and about the trim, no cute little bearded Santa figured crowded the tables with shared jovial jolly, no fluffy oversized stockings were hung above the mantle with care, and worst of all, no tall carefully decorated tree stood proudly and sparkled in the corner or in front of the warm crackling fireplace. 

For Christmas, this she was quite an unmerry one she thought. Or maybe he just hadn't set anything up yet. Maybe he just liked to keep things clean and simple, much easier to clean up afterwards.

"Wait, where's your tree?" She looked around the mostly empty, unfurnished living room in disbelief. "Where's your lights? Your presents? Your stockings?"

"Your- Your- family?" Pepper turned around to face him.

"Family..." The tall towering phantom frowned, his bitter tone of voice was somehow even colder than the quickly dropping freezing temperatures outside. Something was off about him, even more so than usual for a creepy magic stalking fearsome phantom of the night.

"Don't they, want to spend Christmas eve with you? Couldn't they, make it in time?" Pepper asked, concerned that maybe she had said something wrong.

...

"No." The Phantom said. "Nothing of the sort."

Pepper paused, suddenly getting an idea. Well, at least she thought it was an idea. I mean, what else would you call suddenly getting a series of exciting pictures in your head that came just at the perfect opportune moment. Yes, she for sure had an idea.

But she had to play it dumb though, or else the Blot might get suspicious. He wasn't exactly the easiest magic hunting F.O.W.L. agent to fool.

"Oh, so sorry for bothering you Mr. Blot. Guess I'll just, go on home now." The female Egghead fake sighed a sad sigh and went to leave. And as soon as she opened the door, she was hit in face with another powerful blast of artic blinding snowfall.

"See you in the field tomorrow." She spoke over the fierce blizzard as icicles began to form on her bill. "And we'll be sure give those rich Ducks what-for!"

"Yes. W-We will." The phantom waved solemn goodbye on the doorstep as Pepper disappeared into the flurry of the cold winter's night.

"S-See you... Tomorrow..." He slowly let his gloved hand down in defeat as his dark cape was blown about softly in the now calm wind. He had just turned away, the only person left in his life that could possibly fill the empty bitter void left in his inky black heart.


	2. Christmas Magic!

...Bang-bang-bang!

"What?"

Up from his chair and to the floor the phantom stood, to inspect the noisy clatter out in the wood. Past the window and through the clearing it flew, a blurry flash in the snow moved far out of view.

"What is-"

"Ho-ho-ho!"

"CLAAUUS!" The phantom roared upon his sight, cursing the winter intruder and all his cheery blight.

"Ho-ho-ho! Merry Christmas!"

He clenched his fist in utmost rage as the figure danced and sang without a hint of grace or wit. Jolly Old Saint Nicholas was here, and the Blot wasn't having any of it.

"Your merry vile and trespasses end here Nick! I will shred the magic of Christmas down to its last atom!"

Out he ran into the night, with his gauntlet armed and ready to fight. He was furious and fit to be tied, as he left his home unattended to a crafty little duck to sneak her way inside.

* * *

...

"He got away..." The phantom returned to his humble abode, his tracks covered over where it had already snowed. Father Christmas was nowhere to be found, leaving him alone with the shrill cry of his mournful sound.

"Ch- CURSED KRIS KRINGLLLLEEE! Gahhh?!"

He looked into his happy home, and lo and behold, it was full of merry cheer and gold. The decor was bright with little to achieve, all decked out with presents to receive, just in time for merry Christmas Eve.

"What IS THIS?!"

"Tah-daaaa! Pure Christmas magic!" Pepper jumped in so lively and quick, and he knew he was soon going to be sick.

"Well? Whaddya think?" She asked with a hopeful Chirstmas smile.

"Magic..." The phantom seethed.

"Yep! Now that's just what I was saying." She agreed. "Magic!"

"MAGIC!"

Pepper paused. "...Oh. Oh no oh no. I didn't mean real-"

"Maaagiiiccc! GRAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"Whoa. Hold on there." Pepper went to calm him down. "It was just an expression. There's no real magic or anything."

"...Oh." The phantom blushed behind his hood. "Well, you should have chosen your words more carefully then."

"Okay okay. Just hold on a sec there." She began to scribble something down on a yellow notepad. "You, should, choose, your words, more, carefully then. HA! Noted."

Suddenly, a wafting burning scent began to fill the quiet still air. The phantom was most displeased.

"What's that repulsive, foul smell?"

Pepper gasped. "Our Christmas Turkey Rump Roast!" She quickly ran to the Blot's minimalist kitchen to inspect the damage, and the phantom soon followed after.

"What?! ...Excuse me, but did you possibly say, our?!"

"Sure!" Pepper replied as she took her burnt Christmas dinner out of the oven and waved all the smoke away with a pair of festive red oven mitts.

"People that know me know that I cook, I cook every night. Even though I have a lot of fake food in my apartment, but I'm picky about it. Old plaster food, like from the fifties is really nice, hollowed out paper-mache food from old plays. The new stuff just looks too good. You just want to sink your teeth right into it!"

"AhHAA!" Pepper giggled and then suddenly started to look a little sad. "My dentist was not pleased..."

The Phantom Blot was stunned. "Wait? Wh-"

"-And also! My kitchen's pink, like skin-tone pink, and I lowered my spice rack so it's eye level, it's true. And my phone, so I can reach it when I fall, it's right there."

...

"Well, that's, good an-"

"-I'm gonna do my whole bedroom in camel color. It's an old lady color, just like the color on that big fake Santa doll I used to get you outta the house. AhHAA!"

"WHAT?!" The dark phantom's low voice quickly transitioned into a beastly, sharp growl.

"You, tricked ME!"

"All for a good cause!" Pepper held her hands up defensively with an innocent, friendly smile.

"...Really?!"

"Well, since your real family couldn't be here tonight, I decided to take their place! You don't mind if I stay the whole night do ya?" She asked.

"I have a couple freeloader friends, but it's okay. I know they're gonna come in with their arms flying in the air empty-handed. But don't worry, I already brought everything I'll need!"

"Sleeping bag, pillow case, pillow, toothbrush, eye mask, warm jammies. I have the old ones. Like the long full body ones with the sheep and little brass buttons on the back."

"They say women aren't really supposed to wear them, which makes no REAL sense honestly. They're just warm and comfy like you're being hugged! And you don't have to pull them down when you- You've got any spare toothpaste on ya?" She abruptly asked.

"...Pepper." The phantom tried his best to remain as criminally professional as possible.

"Ah-ah-ah! I'm not JUST Pepper anymore." She made sure to set the big grumpy lug straight.

"I'm your bother, your sister, your other brother, your mother, your father, your grandpa, your grandma, your aunt, your uncle, and maybe, just maybe... all your cousins, all wrapped into one deluxe Christmas Eve package!"

"Merry Christmas Blotty!" Pepper reached forward and wrapped her arms tightly around the giant shadowy agent's leg. The Phantom Blot fell silent. He couldn't even remember the last time someone had even given him a genuine warm hug.


End file.
